Mass burials to begin as Indonesia quake tsunami toll tops 800

A collapsed building in Palu: an air traffic controller is being hailed as a hero after staying at his post during the quake AFP/OLA GONDRONK As shattered survivors scoured make-shift morgues for loved ones, and authorities struggled to dig out the living or assess the scale of the devastation beyond the city of Palu, grim warnings came that the eventual toll could reach thousands. “The casualties will keep increasing,” said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, whose agency announced the jump in the toll from 420 earlier. “Today we will start the mass burial of victims, to avoid the spread of disease.” Rescuers on Sulawesi island raced against the clock and a lack of equipment to save those still trapped in the rubble, with up to 60 people feared to be underneath one Palu hotel alone. Rescuers said they heard voices and a child’s cries from under the rubble. In a post to Twitter, the disaster agency spokesman also warned residents to be alert to the hoax forecasts of further tsunamis and earthquakes he said were appearing on social media. Desperate survivors, now facing a third straight night sleeping outdoors, turned to looting shops for basics like food, water and fuel as police looked on, unwilling or unable to intervene. The government was left with little option but to promise it would reimburse owners. “Record everything taken, inventorise it. We will pay for it all,” said security minister Wiranto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. One survivor,… [Read full story]